Tragedy Hero
by Owl-head
Summary: When rebellious Cole Marconi finds himself forced into the mythical world of demigods and monsters, he has a hard time believing any of it. To overcome his skepticism, he'll have to travel across the continent on a wild ride with a newfound nemesis.
1. All in the Cards

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of Rick Riordan's characters, including Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Dionysus, etc., nor do I own Camp Half-Blood and its elements. The characters I _do_ own however, are Jacey, Cole, and both of their personalities/character (for lack of a better word). Ari, however, is a charrie my friend, Nicole created. I give her props! Now, enough author talk. Thanks so much for dropping by to read my fanfic, and enjoy (:  
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Every summer for as long as I can remember, my mom has gone to the extent of taking me on some crazy adventure to the Grand Canyon, D.C., or even one year, New York. Most people would say, "Oh, yeah, that's cool"...but you don't know my mom. She insists on planning a road trip every time— a nonstop drive besides the occasional chance to drop by a gas station. Numerous times, I have tried persuading her to let us take a plane. Though, after experience, I have deemed that theory forever unsuccessful; my mother has abstract, mostly negative views on flying. She says things like, "People weren't given wings, honey. They aren't meant to fly. Besides, airplanes are dangerous." She'll give me a millions reasons why flying isn't in the cards, but won't even consider my arguments. This usually means a grand total of around five hours of sleep in the backseat of our station wagon, the crazy hours obviously not a problem for my nocturnal mother.

Normally, these conditions wouldn't rain on my parade. Once we reach our destination, we end up having a blast, just the two of us. But this year, mom-son time apparently wasn't on the brain. _She_ had decided to try something a little different– different, as in 'leaving-me-to-rot-in-a-summer-camp' different.

You can only imagine how I felt to be jerked awake by the very words I was afraid of: "We're here!"

"Five more minutes," I murmured through a mouthful of seatbelt and seat fabric. The morning sunshine was trying to reach my face, but I found my backpack and burrowed my head defiantly into it. I could hear the car door beside me _click_ open.

"The other kids are already finding their cabins. You don't want to be the last one, do you? All the good floor space will be taken." My mom's hand brushed my shoulder in hopes of jerking me from my weary state.

I groaned, repudiating to move a muscle. "But the _other kids_ didn't have to drive fifteen hours to get here." I could never figure out how she could stay awake that whole time, and not feel half as bad as I did.

"C'mon, sweetie, It'll be a nice experience for you." She almost sounded like one of the cheerleaders' at my old middle school: overly perky, yet strained. It was easy to point out the discomfort in her voice, even while she tried to hide it under a blanket of imitation gusto.

"Nice?" I interjected, unbiased, "Singing cheesy songs around a campfire, sleeping in a rickety, old cabin, and learning how to 'survive in the wild' is your idea of _nice?_"

"Oh, Cole, it's nothing like that," my mother argued gently. I could tell she was trying to seal the deal for me. "This summer camp...isn't like other summer camps."

"Oh yeah? Well, you can't make me go."

" Make you go? This is just as hard for me as it is for you! You don't think I want you at home this summer, Cole?" Her voice quivered a bit.

"Then _why_ do you insist on leaving me for two months, if you _really _want me home?" I demanded, only now deciding to lift my head. I intended to find and meet my mother's eyes in protest, but the offending sunshine blinded me first, and I scrambled to adjust to the immediate illumination.

"We've gone through this before." My mom sighed, and within moments the light allowed me to see her semi-sullen expression. "It's necessary."

I gaped, pulling myself into a sitting position. "_Necessary? _Necessary for what?"

"Honey, with everything going on at school-"

"Hey, it was the last week of school, and that guy punched me first!"

"_Cole_. I meant that, with everything going on at school, you could use some time to wind down. Your teachers...they think you need some sort of counseling or anger management class. I believe you're a good kid. I thought, maybe if I gave you a chance to bond with other kids, they'd set a good example and help you realize your true potential."

"Counseling," I retorted, rolling my eyes dramatically. That was the craziest thing I'd heard yet. It seemed like my stupid seventh-grade teachers had been out to get me the entire school year– I'd gotten detentions from math teacher, Miss Ract for calling her Miss _Raft_ on accident (and talking about how her head could function as a flotation device); In science, I had gotten sent out of the classroom for mixing too much baking soda with hydro-something acid, and unintentionally drenching my chemistry partner; my reading teacher had even pulled me aside after class one day, and told me that I stunk when it came to his class. It didn't take a _genius_ to figure that out, though it took _that_ teacher an entire _semester_ to realize that I had dyslexia and ADHD. Then he apologized.

After that discussion with my oblivious reading instructor, I guess word spread to all of the other teachers. They started treating me different, thinking it was supposed to 'help' me: calling me out in class, talking to me _after_ class, asking me if the homework was too hard. Three days of that, and I started telling them to cut it out– but no matter what I said, how many times I said it, they went on like it didn't matter what I thought.

Then there was their way of getting into everyone else's business. A guy would purposely ram into me in the hallway, I'd punch him back, and _BAM_, _I _was the one being accused of bullying. Now, this happened several times (I kind of lost count), but what bugged me most was that Miss Raft was usually the chief prosecutor. Instead of her usual detentions, she'd have me sit in her room and help her organize stuff aimlessly– like, she'd _intentionally _mix up stacks of papers and throw them all over the floor, just so I'd have to sort through them. I think at one point, she'd started making a conscious effort to keep a side of her classroom messy, so I could clean it up the next time I got in a fight. Once or twice (when she was in a bad mood), Miss Raft would suspend me for tackling a guy. That was when I stopped calling her Miss Raft and started calling her Miss _Rat_.

I can't possibly explain how ecstatic I was to leave those teachers behind. And I'm pretty sure my mom is almost as happy as I am– I could tell that she was tired of all those calls from the principal.

"Ready?" I looked up and was surprised to see that in those short moments, my mom had gone back to the trunk to gather my small suitcase and now held it at her side. I guessed that she had probably done this to change the subject. Usually, neither of us liked to talk about school or teachers or grades.

"No," I muttered simply, sitting up tall to see out the window. Save for the fifty-bazillion kids who were being dropped off by parents, the only thing around for miles was trees. Some had prickly branches, some had droopy leaves, some were extremely tall, some housed chirping birds, some were completely bare; but they were all just boring trees, trees people would never want to look at.

"_Colton. _You're going, now get out of the car," she persisted sharply, and I quickly ripped my eyes from the window to meet her gaze. She normally saved my entire first name for special occasions, so I knew she must be serious about this thing. I didn't hesitate to undo my seatbelt and climb across the backseat to the door on the right-hand side.

"Okay, okay, whatever." Once my feet were on the ground and I had left the comfort of the station wagon, my mom immediately pulled me into a tight hug that could've suffocated me. I only hugged her back to make her feel like I would miss her. Then she hugged me harder, which I didn't think was possible. We stood there in an embrace for what seemed like eternity. What was worse, I probably got half a dozen sympathetic looks from kids and a couple teasing gestures. I stuck my tongue out at them. It was torture, but, hey, at least she didn't decide to kiss me on the cheek or anything like that.

"Well," my mother said abruptly, taking a deep breath and releasing her hold of me, "love you. Call me!" She smiled a bit, which was weird because, just a few minutes ago, she had talked about how she didn't want me to leave. What was up?

"Call you? Do you know how dorky I'd look calling my mom? Besides, I'm pretty sure they don't _have _pay phones out in the middle of nowhere," I said matter-of-factly.

She laughed, casually sticking her hands in the pockets of her windbreaker, like she had expected my reply to be something along those lines. "Silly, you don't need a pay phone! You have your _own_ phone!" She slowly lifted a hand from her pocket to reveal a sleek, blue flip phone, the plastic boldly reflecting the sunlight. It was the exact same model that I had pointed out in a Sprint catalogue, nearly five months ago.

"Seriously?" I asked, practically dumbfounded. She tossed the device at me, and I easily caught it in my right hand. For several minutes, I turned it over, opened it, and pressed buttons. I was definitely shocked– my mom didn't even own a phone herself. She had always told me that calls could be made with the house phone and that there was no use for mobile phones. Apparently, her overprotective, parental nature had changed her mind. That's just how parents' minds worked, I guess. They don't trust you.

But, sometimes, that lack of trust had its rewards.

"You like it?" My mother mused.

"It's great! Thanks, Mom," I said, tucking it away carefully in the pocket of my shorts. Then, out of nowhere, my paranoid mother popped up, pulling me into yet, another hug. I immediately regret thanking her for anything.

"You know, I'm _really_ going to miss you," she replied. Just as quickly, I scrambled to push her away defiantly. Giving me a phone didn't suddenly give her the right to do _this_ out in public. If she randomly hugged me again, I'd have to hide in my room for the rest of my life.

It didn't take much effort to get her off of me. "Yeah, yeah, I noticed. No more hugs!" Then there was an eerie silence between the two of us, as if some previously-unknown tension had slipped into the air, undetected. It was strange, really– I talked to her that way all of the time. Surely, my words hadn't gotten to her. That was the part where I would've walked away, but: 1. I would've rather eaten a beetle than go to that camp; and 2. My mom had already established that she _didn't _want me back in the car. So, instead of scouring the forest floor for an edible bug, I decided that it would be a great chance to count blades of grass. I counted really slow, and by the time I got to twenty-two, I got bored. Thankfully, my mom spoke again.

"Promise you won't get mad at me, Cole." I looked up from the green ground in utter confusion. There had been several occasions recently where I'd completely exploded and gotten mad at her, but it didn't seem like she was talking about any of those.

"Mad? About _what_?"

"About...something I haven't told you, something you're going to discover this summer," she murmured. There was an unreadable emotion in her eyes– maybe shame.

"What something?"

"Cole, I can't tell you now."

"You _can't _or you _won't_, Mom? Tell me!" I demanded.

She turned away, probably ready to cry. I knew her all too well. "You should probably go." By this time, I was both utterly astounded and outraged. Whatever it was, _how come_ she wouldn't tell me? And how come she would tell me about not telling me this secret? She was acting strange and I didn't like it. My mother had kept some enormous secret all of these years. Whatever it was, it was something incredibly important and apparently deadly, by the way she talked about it. Though, somehow I knew she wasn't going to chance her mind. It made me furious.

"Fine!" I snatched up my suitcase, unable to take it anymore. "Then I'll leave, I'll just _leave_! I'm better off without you, anyway!" I turned defiantly to face the opposite direction, the direction of the steep hill. It was scattered with kids, all on their way up to camp...but I could hardly pay attention to them. Though I didn't regret what I'd yelled in my mom's face, I was somewhat bothered by it. Instead of apologizing, I turned and started up the hill with my small suitcase in tow.

As I walked, I silently told myself not to look back, but something in my subconscious mind convinced me to turn back around at the sound of the Marconi Station Wagon's roaring engine. Not meaning to, I watched it drive the whole length of the dirt road and into the trees. The red automobile was a meager speck on the horizon before disappearing altogether. But that was that– it was apparently meant to be, or, as my mom might've said, "it's all in the cards."

Like my old life, the station wagon was gone for good, never coming back.


	2. Two's a Crowd

**I apologize if I'm breaking any rules here (the whole thing about mentioning Michael Phelps may be a crime), but, hey, what can I say? It's my first submission to this site. OH, please, _Fanfic _staff members, take it easy on me, whatever the verdict! -clears throat- If there _is_ a verdict. Anyway, carry on, readers, there's nothing to see here besides some weirdo animal at the top of the hill =3**

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As I trudged past the ginormous pine tree towards the base of the hill, a strange shadow near the branches became visible, and gradually, more clear. For the first few seconds, the shape resembled a rather fat, young reindeer whom had just grown the slightest hint of antlers. Though, in the moments that followed, the stubby antlers atop its head became pointy, like small spikes. Instead of the animal's body being one super-huge blob, I could now pick out a thick tail in the mass as well as legs, which it held close to its side. Raindrop-shaped ears jutted out on either side of the creature's head. An elongated snout rested upon an abandoned tree stump, only its general shape noticeable.

I walked extremely slow, not only because of the weight of my suitcase, but because of my overwhelming curiosity. I was practically on top of the animal and its friend, the tree when I finally matched the mystery creature to a name...and even then, I couldn't believe my eyes (by then, I had forgotten the previous conversation with my mom).

The supposedly-fictitious being before me was a lot more startling than I expected any dragon to be (not that I expected dragons to be real). Beady eyes stared me down while the metallic scales across its body reflected sunlight up and away. Claws protruded, twenty in all, from individual "fingers" on a set of deformed "hands", similar to birds' talons.

I desperately tried to propel myself up the rest of the way to the camp, but my feet felt glued to the grass all of a sudden. What was more, if I zeroed in on the beast's snout, I could just make out wisps of smoke billowing from its mouth. Now, I normally wasn't so easily shaken– I couldn't name three things off the top of my head that scared me– but, man, if you had seen that thing, that scaly eyesore, you would've been freaked out, too.

What paralyzed me the most was the simple question of existence. My mind wasn't ready to process the fact that a real, living, breathing dragon was staring back at me. Even more mind-boggling was the fact that all of the other kids filed by without giving the thing a second thought (I _would_ call it 'the pink elephant in the corner', but 'the fire-breathing dragon on the hill' seemed a bit more suitable). They didn't appear to notice the fifteen-foot threat.

My insides tightened. Didn't these idiots have common sense? They were going to be fried, or, more importantly, _I _was going to be fried. Though asleep now, the beast was sure to awaken soon, when it would attack everyone in sight. What could I do? I thought quickly and did the only thing I _could_ do.

"EVERYBODY, RUN, IT'S A DRAGON!" I stood, motionless, as I yelled the words. However, my own body still remained stationary at the creature's mercy. As for the other kids, I hardly got the response I expected.

They stopped walking, but not to scream...rather to laugh at me. Some girls gathered to giggle and point in my direction; a couple guys formed a cluster where they whispered things like "newbie" and "weirdo"; those who continued walking only stopped to giddily mimic my words of warning. That was when I realized I had made a complete fool of myself– though I wasn't quite sure what had been so funny. Just to be safe, I glared at anyone who dared to make eye contact.

"You think _that's_ funny?" I called to a blonde girl whom had been in the midst of recounting the tale to a friend. She was trying to do a high-pitched impersonation of my voice. "Wait 'til I dislocate that ugly little nose of yours!"

"That's Peleus." I nearly had a heart attack when I heard a feminine voice coming from directly behind me (why any of these crazies would want to talk to me, I'm not sure). I spun around to see– not one, but _two_ girls staring me down.

The one who had spoken wore golden hair pinned up in a ponytail, a pair of worn jeans, and an orange T-shirt with black letters. Though her eyes were a deep gray-ish sort of color, there was still an odd sparkly to them. However, her overall appearance wasn't necessarily _friendly _according to her mashed-up facial features and strange smile. She was definitely older– around seventeen– and had a few worry lines.

The brunette to her right, on the other hand, was more my age. She had thinner limbs, blue eyes, and a warmer, whole-hearted grin. She genuinely looked more easygoing, in her similar orange tee and jean shorts. There was also a glow to her skin, probably a gentle tan. Both girls wore beaded necklaces, though the brunette's had a few less beads.

"Don't look so scared! He's not going to hurt you." The brunette's giggle pulled me out of my trance-like state. I must've looked like a dork after my encounter with Pel-Whatever-His-Name-Was. I could only imagine the awestruck expression I wore.

I felt my cheeks burn in embarrassment. "Scared? Who's scared?"

The brunette replied, "By the looks of it, _you_ are."

"I was _not!_"

"You're weird...I like that. I'm Jacey."

"No, you know what you are? Nosey." I narrowed my eyes slightly, staring at both of the girls in turn.

The creepy blonde stepped forward. "Actually, I'm Annabeth. Nice to meet you." There was sarcasm in her voice that irritated me.

"Well," Jacey fingered the trio of beads that hung around her neck, "if someone starts yelling 'dragon', we kind of make it our business."

"_Maybe_ I said that because there actually _was_ a dragon over here. Last time I checked they _weren't real_, you know, so I naturally thought that thing was going to burn me to a crisp." I snapped.

Annabeth answered this time. "Peleus is specially trained to guard Thalia's Tree." She pointed to the great pine beside the sleeping dragon.

"So now the trees have names?" I retorted before gesturing to a distant oak. "That one's Suzy, right?"

"Never mind that," Annabeth replied with gritted teeth. "It's what's _in _the tree that's important." Reluctantly, I took a moment to survey the stiff evergreen branches of 'Thalia'. After a minute or so, all I could come up with were a few pine cones and something shiny that caught the sun's glare. I figured someone had carelessly tossed some hunk of metal into the midst. That must've been what Missy Know-It-All had been talking about. I pointed to the glint. "You mean that junk?"

This time Annabeth scowled. This pine tree ornament obviously had some significance...or at least, according to her. The brunette, Jason, or whatever, her face tightened, too. Whatever they were thinking, I hoped I had gotten to them. By their facial expressions, I could tell something I'd said had bothered them. I smirked.

"That _junk_ would be the Golden Fleece. It only shields the camp's borders from unwanted visitors," Annabeth continued after a large, deep breath.

"Why would anyone _want_ to go to a plain 'ol summer camp? Much less, why would anyone wanna _sneak in_? Do you guys have to fend off the National Marshmallow-Stealers' Association or something?" I threw back. The idea somewhat interested me. NMSA, that was convincing. Maybe a club of that sort targeted this camp and their campfire goodies? I laughed.

"For someone who has such a big mouth, you don't seem to know a thing about this place," she gestured vaguely up the hill and to the left, which I guessed was where the camp resided. I was moments away from punching her in the face for her comment, but Jacey changed the subject before I could react.

"You haven't been claimed yet, have you?" she said, though the subject-changing didn't do much good, considering I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Claimed?" I repeated, confused.

"I'll take that as a 'no'. So, um, it's your first year at Camp Half-Blood, then?"

"Camp..._Half-Blood_? Why in the world do they call it that?" I countered her question with a question of my own. Though, the question I had really wanted to ask had to do with the first part of her statement: she had said 'first year'. My eyes widened. That probably meant I had to come back _next_ year, too. And the year after that. I'd be an crazy-happy optimist by the time I left this camp. I shuddered.

"C'mon." Instead of answering my question, Jacey made a gesture with her hand for me and Annabeth to follow her. I made a face. The last thing I wanted to do was go up there. Nonetheless, I wasn't up for arguing (a new for me), so I picked up my suitcase and followed the girls, glancing nervously at the dragon before starting up the hill once more. "Camp Half-Blood," she began again, once we'd started moving, "is a camp for half-bloods."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, that really helps. Like I _know_ what a half…-blood is." I was surprised at how odd the words tasted in my mouth. They sounded extra strange coming out in my own voice. 'Half' and 'blood'. That was an odd pair. Two totally different things, mashed into one word.

I thought I saw Jacey shuddered out of the corner of my eye, as she leaned in to whisper something to her blonde friend. "Weird much?"

I scowled, tapping her on the shoulder, hoping she'd remember that I was standing next to her. "Hel-_lo_, I can hear you!"

Jacey didn't even bother to look at me. "Yup."

Then, the girls went back to whispering– or what they thought was whispering. This time, it was Annabeth, the blonde's voice: "It's hard to believe this guy even _has _an Olympian parent. For all we know, it could be Ares." That made me mad, even though I had no idea what the heck an _Ares_ was.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean? Well, maybe _your _Olympics parent is Michael Phelps," I countered in anger, the words practically forming themselves. I paused suddenly. Wasn't comparing someone to Michael Phelps a _compliment_? I quickly added, "I mean, uh...Bigfoot!"

Jacey giggled, continuing quietly from Annabeth's comment. It was almost as if she hadn't heard my remark. "Or an extremely pathetic son of Phobos, even."

"_You're _a hobo!" I said.

"I didn't say _hobo_, I said _Phobos_."

"Okay, I admit it: I get D's on my spelling tests. That doesn't mean you can just throw around big words!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Phobos isn't a big word, it's the name of the god of fear. You probably haven't heard of him because he's a minor god, the son of Aph-"

"Wait, you get D's on your spelling tests? Ha, ha!" Annabeth interrupted, pointing a finger accusingly at me. She was clearly amused. I scowled, opening my mouth to make a comeback, but Jacey's exclamation stopped me in my tracks- "We're here!" Either the hill was really small, or we had walked extremely fast, if we were already at the top.

I lifted my gaze from the girls beside me and focused on the scene before me. It took me a while to catch my breath, I was so shocked.


	3. POA

**Introductory arguments, bizzare discriptions, weird nicknames...this is chapter three, people! Ready, set, READ! **

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Directly before us, amongst the dozens of kids that flooded the place, was a large white-columned building. It reminded me of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where my mother had taken me last summer– the craftsmanship was nearly identical. Though, campers tended to formicate _around_ it instead of _into_ it. Aside from a group of young-looking kids gathered at the steps of the building –what I guessed was a tour group or something-, no one even seemed to bother with it.

To the right stood a plain-looking sand volleyball court. Five campers stood on each side, submerged in a game. The game was mute, due to the rising cacophony of chit-chat around us, all except for the loud echo when the ball happened to _thud_ against the ground. That all seemed normal and boring enough, but just as I was about to turn to look at something else, my line of sight caught onto a furry bit of fabric hanging from a volleyball player's shorts pocket. After taking a moment to survey the entire show, I noticed that everyone on that side of the court had the same fabric, or fur in their pocket. _Fur._I held my breath. That was real fur. They all had real, furry tails. Furry tails attached to furry butts. Which...were attached to an entire furry hindquarters. I slowly scanned the figures from top to bottom, also noting tiny horns, cow-esque ears, as well as...hooves. They looked like _hooves_.

"What a weird dream," I muttered, my voice uneven as I stared, trying to take it in. "_Yeah, that's what it is, a dream. The strangest dream yet._" As a general rule, I really didn't have a creative mind. I mean, my brain's idea of creative is a flying fish...and that already _exists_. I desperately wanted to convince myself that this goat-person-thing was a dream, but somehow I knew that I couldn't think up something like this on my own. It was just as real as the dragon that'd nearly attacked me earlier.

Beside me, I heard Annabeth and Jacey explode in hysteria, but I was too preoccupied and awestruck to threaten either one of them with a blow to the face. "Never seen a satyr before, either? They're half-goat, half-human. Surely there must've been one at your school. Come to think of it, why didn't one lead you here to camp? What school do you go to? I need to tell Chiron that your school's satyr wasn't doing his job…" One of the girls droned on, but my mind was too busy trying to process the goat-people to register which of the girls' voices I'd heard. Whatever these goat-people were, they were creeping me out. _It's just a dream, just a dream,_ I repeated in my head.

To take my mind off of the abnormal petting-zoo creatures, I ran my eyes over the columned building once more to view what great stretch of land resided on the far left side of the white palace. It was something else that had a quite innocent appearance: what looked like a park. The large piece of land seemed to go on forever, and groups of kids were just visible in the distance, laughing and running around like toddlers. A closer-by couple picked something red from a small vine– a strawberry, I soon observed. The entire grassy area was one giant strawberry field. A bit random. With the volleyball court and strawberry fields, it made the place look like something from a brochure, minus the goat-people; exaggerated and too happy to be true. It almost made me want to puke. _No place in the world_ was as carefree as this camp appeared. Within a few moments, I thought sarcastically, there'd probably be a unicorn jumping over a rainbow.

"Hey, Jacey, Annabeth." I turned around to see that two others had joined our group. There was another guy (thank goodness), who sported thin, black hair and was sort of tall. His smile was genuine, and his voice was sure as well as strong. Judging by the number of beads on his rope necklace (what was the deal with these necklaces, anyway?), he was probably the same age as Annabeth.

The girl who stood beside him had shoulder-length strawberry-blond hair. Though her eyes were a bright shade, I stared into them and they felt bottomless. Not that she looked creepy, but her very presence made my head ache for some odd reason– like, I couldn't look at her face for more than a couple minutes at a time.

"Hey, Perc!" Jacey greeted the boy, making it sound like 'purse'. I started cracking up because, for a few moments, I was convinced that that was his actual name.

Giving me a confused side-glance, as if to ask why I was laughing, Annabeth also greeted 'Purse': "Hi, Percy. Who's that with you?" She studied the blond with interest, almost like she'd looked at me.

Percy (I was slightly disappointed to find out that his name was 'Percy' and not 'Purse') replied, "This is Ari."

"So, _you're _the famous Ari. We've heard a lot about you," Jacey piped up. I raised an eyebrow. What _was_ there to know about this girl? What was there to know about _anyone_ besides the fact that they had been dropped at this camp to waste away their summer, roasting sugary snacks? But then again, with the strange goats I'd seen, there may be something I didn't know about this 'Ari' that was equally as odd.

"Really, you have? What sort of things?" this 'Ari' replied. Her voice was different than I had expected. Well, I don't know what I was expecting really, maybe something more high-pitched and girly...not that her voice _wasn't _girly, but it sure wasn't all Beach Time Barbie-ish, either.

"About how you being the first daughter of Zeus since Thalia," Annabeth replied. The way she talked about this unintelligible Zeus-whatever, she sounded like she knew a lot on the subject. "Your first year, I assume?"

"Yeah. I guess you could say I had a bit of training at home before arriving at camp this morning, but it _is_ my first day." Ari blushed innocently, and I rolled my eyes. For some reason, the gesture just looked so fake to me, like she was trying to be humble and brag at the same time.

"So," Purse interrupted, "who would your friend be?" He pointed a finger at me, which caught me off guard.

Jacey hesitated, "Um, this is...wait, what _is_ your name?" I blinked. That just gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

"Everyone calls me Cole," I said bluntly.

"Well, nice to meet you, I'm Jac– wait, I already introduced myself."

Purse stuck out a hand, a large smile on his face. "Hi, I'm Percy! Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, the best summer camp on earth. _So_, who would your Olympian parent be?"

I sighed. "_Again_ with the Olympics. I'm pretty darn sure neither of my parents do sports." A couple of them stifled a laugh.

"Unclaimed," Percy said, nodding to the others.

"Un..._claimed?_" I asked, a quizzical look crossing my face. Did it have anything to do with the question Jason-- or whatever her name was-- had posed earlier?

"It means you stay in Hermes." These people might as well have been speaking another language, because I couldn't understand a word any of them were saying besides, 'what is your name?'.

"Translation?"

"Never mind" was his reply, and he went back to his indecipherable discussion with the blonde, Ari. It seemed all of them had joined in, apparently laughing over some inside joke. It bugged me. I was typically the center of attention wherever I went– why wasn't anyone so much as acknowledging my presence now? For once, being the outcast didn't feel so good.

"You know what?" I said finally, raising my head to study the multi-colored sky with a slight smile. Streaked on the horizon were various shades of pinks, oranges, yellows, and the original blue. The sun was just beginning to set. There was still time, and this was the perfect opportunity, while the group was occupied. "I'm just going to call a cab, and I'll catch you guys later."

After my mom explained this whole camp deal, I had made it a priority to write out a P.O.A, or Plan Of Action. I spent the school day, every day for a week thinking up ways to escape this torture that would absorb my entire summer. I had considered several different possibilities, all of which I had tried (and failed):

**Ideas to Get Out of Summer Camp**

1. Convincing my mom to let me stay home instead of going to camp  
(she wouldn't agree because she's afraid "someone might break through the window and kidnap me")

2. Running away from home  
(my mom would've called the police and sent out a search party before I could catch the subway)

3. Offering to clean my room, so I didn't have to attend camp  
(she wouldn't give me a straight answer when I brought up that one)

4. Threatening to go live on the streets  
(she protested that I couldn't last a day on the street without my favorite pepperoni pizza for dinner– and she was right)

5. During the road trip, jumping out of the station wagon at a gas station and refusing to get back in the car unless we were going home  
(that one worked pretty well, until my mom said she'd buy me a Blizzard from Dairy Queen if I got in the car. Hey, you can't say no to a Blizzard)

6. Pretending to be asleep when my mom threw open the car door and tried to get me up and out  
(you sort of know how that one went over: epic fail)

7. Making a lame excuse for needing to go back home to Philly and catching a cab to the nearest airport.

I only had one idea left.

I thought I was going to make it out the way I came, straight down the hill. I made it pretty far, too, until Blondie's voice called, "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

_Away from you,_ I wanted to reply. Instead I simply said, "What's it to you?" which probably wasn't much better. I went on walking.

"You don't have to be so smart about it, I was just asking a question," Ari called back. She could yell pretty loud for a girl.

"It'd be better if you didn't talk at all, your voice is kind of...annoying."

"Annoying?" I could hear her laugh, as if she enjoyed the attention. By now, I had stopped my descent down the hill and turned to meet her gaze. A look of pure delectation spread across her face like a tapestry. Was she..._amused?_ I raised an eyebrow. I had expected quite the opposite reaction.

"Yeah, like, damaging to the ears," I said, sarcastically attempting to define the word 'annoying' for her. "Most people would've learned that one in kindergarten or first grade, but, you know, some of us are slow learners."

"Like you?"

I bit my lip, suppressing the crude answer that wanted to burst from my mouth. She had only made a few mean remarks; I'd go out on a limb and let it slide. Determined to not let Mrs.-Smarty-Pants rain on my parade, I forced my eyes to revert to the trees straight ahead and my legs to resume forward. "Like I said, _Bossy_, I've got a taxi to catch, and I don't have time to stop and _talk_ with people like you." Now, I realized with a spark of disappointment, Ari had caught up to me and was matching my stride.

"People like me? All I know is that you're not going to be able to catch a _tax-iii_ out here."

"And why is that?"

"Um, it's the middle of the forest, the middle of _nowhere_. The only cars that come around here are parents and buses dropping kids off at camp. Use _common sense_ if you have any." As she said this, I stopped to survey my surroundings more carefully. It _would_ make sense...the only road nearby was a discrete dirt path not far from the bank of the hill. The odds were slim that a yellow cab would happen to pas by. I could could feel my cheeks flush red.

"Why don't you run on back to your friends...if you have any," I said icily, playing off of what she'd said to me.

"What's _that _supposed to mean, hotshot?" Her smile grew wider. Two could play that game. This is where a fist formed at my side and tightened until the knuckles turned white. I didn't need to study them to note the color change; it was routine whenever I got frustrated. How much I wanted to punch her! I tried to restrain the urge and uncurl my fingers, but temptation was still there like an expensive video game in a display window. Regardless, I sure was close to giving her a black eye. Her expression was too confident for comfort.

A sudden crack of thunder in the distance caught me off-guard, the rumble seeming to echo louder and longer than usual. Subconciously, I jumped.

"Better be careful." Ari waited for the thunder to fade before speaking. She said the words indifferently and with a straight face, but the corners of her mouth hinted at a concealed laugh. "My Dad's very protective, you know. I wouldn't let him catch you talking to me like that again unless you want to get fried."

I rolled my eyes. "Fried?"

"Yeah," she continued, "he's got these huge, sharp lightning bolts that he just_-- ready_, aim_, boom_, POW, you're dead..." She miraculously seemed to forget my presense as she aimed an invisible dart at a target, (apparently this so-called "lightning bolt") miming hitting someone with it. She was obviously having fun with it, too. Honestly, I think she looked stupid.

"So your dad's a superhero? Is he best friends with Spiderman?" I smirked, satisfied with the sarcastic comment I'd conjured up.

She dropped her imaginary weapon immediately, probably oblivious to what I'd just said. "What?"

"Does he wear a cape?"

"Hel-_lo_, my dad's Zeus."

"And my dad's name was John. Your point?" He'd gotten hit by a car when I was three, according to my mom. And that was all I knew about him. My mom refused to say anything more; that, and she'd get teary-eyed whenever I said his name.

"_He's Zeus_," Ari reiterated, probably expecting me to recognize the name. Naturally, I didn't.

"What, does he think he's too cool for capes?"

"He's an Olympian."

Then it hit me like a big, fat dodge ball. Olympians. "Seriously, what's the deal with everyone here and the Olympics? The next Olympic Games aren't for like, another three years," I observed. It was beginning to annoy me how much it was the topic of conversation.

"Not that type of Olympian, stupid! Olympian, as in_ not _Olympian athletes. As in the Greek Gods."

"But this is America."

Her palm fell over her face. "Haven't you heard of them?"

"Um, no."

"Like, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Ares?"

I cracked a laugh. "Those are people's names? Man, I bet they had a hard time growing up..."

"They all have certain areas of expertise," Ari said. I could tell she was trying to be patient the way her jaw tightened, "like I was saying, my dad's in charge of the sky-"

"So, he's a weather man?" I laughed again. I honestly didn't understand where this was going.

"Are you trying to be smart?" her eyebrows narrowed, and she suddenly lost any hint of patience. She resembled one of those bulls on TV that people tried to ride. Pretty soon, someone was going to get bucked off. And I was the only one riding.

"I was dead serious," I muttered, shrugging. It was true. There was no way anyone could _actually_ control rain or lightning, much less the whole sky.

"Like I said, you better watch your--" She was interrupted for the second time in the last ten minutes, but this time, it hadn't been me. Jacey was flying toward us in a flurry, descending down the slope of the hill like a track runner. Behind her, the sun lowered a bit in the sky, but most likely wasn't going to completely set until much later (considering it was the middle of June). Before I could ask her if she was running from something, Percy and Annabeth appeared on the horizon, trying to keep up with their more athletic counterpart.

"What're you two doing down here?" Jacey asked hurriedly between gasps for air. The others were also catching their breath. "Didn't you hear it?"

"_Hear what_?" Ari and I questioned in unison. Ironically, both of our tones of voice were nearly identical: oblivious and eager for an answer. I immediately shot her a glare. She mirrored my gesture.

"The dinner bell. We're going to be late for orientation in the dining pavillion," Jacey explained, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other. I guessed she must've been incredibly hungry to the point of paranoia.

Within minutes, Jacey, Percy, and Annabeth began up the hill again in a hurry, this time with Ari in tow. "What makes you think I'm going to stay for dinner?" I countered. My feet remained planted in the dirt defiantly.

Annabeth turned around for a split second. "It's getting dark. You don't happen to have a meal in that suitcase of yours, do you?" Her tone of voice was impatient, as if to say "shut up, you're coming, so deal with it".


	4. Invasion of the Etiquette Police

**Cole kicks it up a notch. How is that possible, you ask? Oh, it's possible. Especially with a matchup like Ari. This won't be an easy match to win, that's for sure. Read on ^^**

* * *

After a few moments, our jogging slowed to a walk. Everyone had gotten tired. Ahead of me, Jacey, Annabeth, and Percy were still leading the group, but in a more leisurely fashion. They were talking in hushed voices as they walked and, every once-in-a-while, would start laughing aloud. That left Ari and I to follow along in the back...lucky me. I would've started a conversation or something with her, I really would've if I hadn't despised her so much. Awkward silences were simply unbearable.

She apparently had the same idea because she randomly decided to say, "You wouldn't survive out there, anyway." Of all of the things she could've said, Ari had decided to say something stupid. Then again, I shouldn't have been surprised.

"_Out there? _You mean, out in the _sane_ part of the world?" I retorted. As usual, the words seemed to form themselves and flow in an uncontrollable mess. "Where there aren't any rabid dragons or creepy goat-people? Sounds like a _pretty good_ place to survive, in my opinion."

"Satyrs." Annabeth appeared out of nowhere, nearly scaring me out of my shoes. She had been ahead with Percy and Jacey a minute ago; now she had slipped back, without my noticing, to walk with Ari and me. I had no idea what she was talking about. Hence, I decided to disregard her interference.

"It's not as sane as you think," Ari contradicted my comment calmly, a grin forming on her lips. "There are monsters. Zillions of different kinds of monsters, just waiting to eat you up." I laughed aloud at that one.

"Sure, sure." I pointed to a group of rabbit-tailed boys in the distance. "I don't suppose those goat-people are killing machines?"

Annabeth interjected again: "Satyrs. _Say-terrs. _Not goat-people. They don't appreciate derogatory terms of that sort. And they're perfectly harmless, _for your information_." I snickered. Who used big words like 'derogatory'? What a showoff. I repositioned a sweaty palm on the handle of my suitcase. Who gave a darn what the politically-correct name for a goat-man was, anyway? Things like that weren't even supposed to _exist!_

"_Okay_, Smarty-Pants, then, _what _exactly is going to kill me?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing, just fire-breathing chimera; the giant, bull-like minotaur; empousa-"

"Dracaena," Ari added. Annabeth continued railing off strange names that apparently were names of monsters, but I let her voice melt into the background.

"If all of these things exist, then where are they? If there was some random animal running around, shooting out fire, I don't think it'd be able to hide." I imagined a furry creature with the build of Peleus the dragon. It was running down a street lined with trees, blowing puffs of flames at each one it passed. The leaves went up in smoke and the trunks of the trees ignited, burning slowly. Once the bark had reduced to ashes, all trace of fire disappeared. So did the furry dragon-thing. _Was it magic? _I shook my head. Only a fantastical scene my mind had created. For goodness' sake, it sounded like something in the nightmare of a five-year-old child– ridiculous.

"Monsters don't just 'randomly' run around cities. They eat half-bloods, genius," Ari said sharply. My eyes narrowed.

"See, there you have it. If monsters _did_ exist, they'd be after these 'half-bloods'. _I'm_ perfectly safe." Then, a funny thing happened. Ari laughed. My eyes narrowed. Before I could yell something in defense, Jacey announced that we had made it to the pavilion.

My gaze drifted to the dining area ahead. Picnic tables spanned out in every direction, all of which seated groups of kids. Some wooden tables seemed to creak under the weight, as though they were getting used to being sat on after all of those idle months during the school year. Many campers were wearing matching orange T-shirts with jeans and pushed aside empty paper plates to be thrown in the trash. Most looked to be finishing up their meal. However, they were all silent as a tall, creepy dude spoke sharply from his place at the front of the pavilion. He was in the midst of saying something like, "...so don't shoot arrows at the water nymphs because it will result in severe consequences." He spoke deliberately, tone raucous and rough. Quite amusing, actually. It took a few moments to connect the dots; _that's _why Jacey, Annabeth, and Purse had been in a rush. They were supposed to be up with the other campers.

At the sound of the man's harsh voice, I looked to Jacey. Her movements became slower and more careful instantly. She obviously didn't want to get spotted by the creeper (and I didn't blame her; I'd be scared of a guy that ugly, too). Subsequently, she turned to gesture for me to zip my lip, but, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't suppress my laughter. "What the heck is a nymph?" My voice was a few levels above a whisper, the same voice I had been using earlier. That was the strangest word I'd heard all day- and I'd heard a lot of strange things on this particular day.

Oddly enough, I didn't receive an answer. "What?" I demanded as I studied the awkward expressions of those around me. They were all so abstract: a few of them looked annoyed, like the big-mouthed one, Ari; the others seemed angry or amused. It was hard to tell, but I was absolutely sure none of them were happy with me at the moment. "You all act like it's my fault I ended up here, but it wasn't, okay? You guys are the ones who pulled me up that hill. You guys are the ones who made up stories about stupid goat-people and monsters just to get me to this stupid summer camp! You're the ones who were telling lies about my home in Philly being 'dangerous' or something. I know dangerous, I rode the subway! I-"

I was abruptly interrupted by Percy's obnoxiously loud whisper: _"Sshhh_! I don't know about you, but I could go for some dam fries right now. We might actually get to eat if you be quiet!"

I exchanged quizzical glances with Annabeth. "Dam fries?"

_Don't ask_, she mouthed back.

"That-" Percy continued, but he, too, was interrupted. Apparently for him, tiptoeing, keeping eye contact with Ari and me, and talking was too much, because Percy's reflexes took this opportunity to introduce his face to the hard concrete floor on the edge of the dining pavilion. _Smack._ Flesh against concrete. I cracked up.

Mr. Creeper Dude heard us. Though he had been facing the entirely opposite direction, he now spun around to face the five of us, his expression a Picasso portrait of sorts. The guy had a square face and angular forehead. His eyebrows were turned upward and smashed together over a set of flaming eyes like none I had ever seen. A crooked nose and twisted frown completed the look, lips pursed with distaste. In short, he looked like he was going to strangle us.

He walked in what seemed like slow motion, and didn't stop until he stood point-blank in front of the fallen Percy. He basically just stood there glaring until Purse decided to stand himself.

Then he spoke, what was a thick, deep baritone: "_Well_, late, are we?" The creases of his plump lips curled back into an unexpected smile.

"Yes, Sir," Jacey answered solemnly.

The Creeper guy took a moment to study each of us in turn, his facial features changing once landing upon me. "Jason, Annabel, Peter, Amy...and who might this one be?"

Before I could answer myself, Ari said, "That's Cole."

"Ah, Cody," Creeper Guy emulated. "I'm Mr. D, the activities director here at Camp Half-Blood."

"It's _Cole_, you skunk bag," I burst out flippantly. There was something about this guy that gave me a bad vibe, like the one I'd gotten from Ari when I'd first met her. He was messing up my name on purpose, I was almost sure of it.

Out of nowhere, something jabbed me in the ribs. "_Shut up_" it hissed. I turned to see a grave Annabeth whispering in my ear.

This Mr. D dude's smile faded. "Feisty little brat, aren't you?" he muttered. His intent eye contact was full of hatred and seemed to wrap around me like the vice grip of a poisonous snake.

Disregarding the adult, I called back to Annabeth, "Why should I?"

"Because you're going to get turned into a bush if you don't," Jacey intruded, her voice also low.

I threw my hands up, letting them fall hard at my sides. I still spoke at regular volume. "Oh, sure, why not? I'm going to get burned to a crisp by that dragon thing on the hill, so-called 'fried' by Ari's dad, eaten by a ginormous bull, befriend some goat-people, and _now_ turned into a bush!"

Annabeth's undertone was still gentle. "No, Cole, really, you should shut up."Head spinning, I took a step forward to confront Annabeth. "You know what? Maybe _you're _the one who needs to shut the heck up! What is this, the Camp for Kids With Big Mouths?"

Ari muttered under her breath, "That would explain why _you're_ here."

"You, and you and you," I continued, pointing to Ari, Annabeth, and Jacey in turn. _"I_ didn't choose to be here, okay? So you need to shut your-"

"Hey, don't bother Annabeth like that!" Mousy Jacey made her way defensively to her friend's side, opposite of me. "Who do you think you are, hotshot?" Honestly, that was the first set of brutal words I'd ever heard her say.

"Oh, you act like you're so innocent! _You're _the one who dragged me here to this stupid camp!" I yelled, nearly at the top of my lungs. "I could be halfway home by now on a city bus, but, no, you were all like, 'oh yeah, there are monsters that can kill you', yadda, yadda." At this point I felt as though I was going to explode with anger. Bottled-up hatred for my mother, who'd dropping me off at this camp without telling me a thing; hatred for the girls who had convinced him to come to the place; hatred for the so-called "Gods" who supposedly were fictional, but _not_ fictional. Yeah, it totally made sense.

We all fell silent. I had gotten my point across and there was nothing left to say– no one had dared to combat my latest remark. Though, I soon realized why: Purse was in the midst of distracting the Creepy, self-proclaimed Camp Director.

He was saying something about Olympus (whatever that was), and the Mr. D guy replied, "Well, better than being in this horrid wasteland, I suppose. You know how Zeus is. He's cranky, that one is. Do you know how he greets me after a hundred years? He says, 'Dion-"

Not bothering to wait for him to finish his sentence, Percy nodded. "Ah, I know how you feel. Returning home after a quest...my mom isn't anywhere near thrilled. Instead of 'Oh my gosh, Percy, you saved Camp Half-Blood' I get, 'Percy, I was worried about you, don't do that again'. Some people just don't understand."

"Yes, yes, exactly!" Mr. D said quickly in response. "Oh, and Hera. Have you seen the way she talks to Zeus? She acts like he does nothing wrong. What's so _right_ about launching lightning bolts into the sky every five seconds?"

Percy's smile widened. It looked as though he was enjoying the makeshift conversation. "Too motherly, I agree. And don't get me started on Ares. Can't even beat a half-blood at a little swordplay? How pathetic is that? He calls himself a god. All he does is stand around and make people start disputes." I wondered what in the world they meant.

Dumbly, and completely forgetting about our disagreement moments ago, I whispered to no one in particular, "What're they talking about?"

Jacey answered, "Ares, the god of war. He and Percy sword fought a few years back and Percy won.""Oh, right, the _Greek Gods_."

"C'mon, _grow up_! Mr. D is one, too. His full name is Dionysus, and he's the god of wine."

"Sure, sure."

_Wine._ I let my gaze drift back to Mr. D. His nose suddenly seemed a bit more pointy and I suddenly took notice to his eggplant-hued shirt. Coincidence? I think not. As if on cue, his bottomless eyes found mine. It was like he'd known I'd been looking at him. Embarrassed, my stare moved to the ground.

Percy and Mr. D continued their intimate rant until another, hoarse voice joined the mix. "Mr. D, we're getting ready for the campfire." I lifted my eyes again. This time, where the Creepy Director stood, an old wheelchair-ed man was at his side. Stringy, gray-white hair hung around his face and a mess of the same hair represented a beard. Naturally as he stared at me with interest, his next words were, "Well, who's this young man?"

I blinked. Had he called me a young man? I hadn't been called a young man for longer than I could remember. "Um, Cole," I spluttered.

The wrinkles around his mouth pulled into a smile. "Ah, Colton Marconi." No one called me my full name. Ever. Unless my mom was mad, of course. But how had this old guy known? I hadn't told him, had I? I had just said 'Cole'.

"Yeah, uh, that's me. H-how did you know?"

"The gods told me you'd be attending camp this summer. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Chiron, director of Camp Half-Blood."

"G-Gods?"

The warmth of breath on my neck, Jacey murmured a simple "told you".

Catching Chiron's words, Mr. D cleared his throat. "Right. Peter, were you trying to distract me? You bastard!" Here, Percy bit his lip. Apparently the director had caught on to Percy's act of trickery, though Mr. D seemed abnormally calm. "Nonetheless, you and your friends will not be attending the campfire this evening, nor will you be allowed to enter in the Welcome-Back-to-Camp-Half-Blood chariot race tonight. Instead-_haha_-you will be scrubbing down the camp's bathrooms: all the sinks, stalls, showers, and floors. Only then will I decide whether you are deserving of dinner."

"_What_?" Percy nearly yelled. He apparently hadn't even stopped to think about who he was talking to (because this random yelling was exactly what Annabeth had told me _not_ to do in Mr. D's presence). He was stunned. "It's not _my_ fault I was late! I was- you can't just-"

Mr. D snickered, interrupting Percy icily, "I just did. Now watch your mouth, Peter, before I decided to make you sleep in the pegasi stables tonight." It was clear the camp director was enjoying his job, as he looked down on us with a sly smirk. I had a feeling this dude's specialty was dealing out punishments. He was officially my least favorite person so far...I hated him more than Annabeth and Ari _combined_ (and that was saying a lot). I felt like waltzing up to him and giving his jagged nose a good slam.

"Who called the etiquette police?" I heard Ari for the first time in a while. And I agreed with her.

Before Mr. D –or I– could answer Ari with a snide comment, he sighed, studying Oldie. "I suppose I must be going- but I expect the bathrooms clean when the campfire is over! No dilly-dallying! And Cody," he pointed a finger at me sharply, "don't try anything smart. Your little 'friends' here can tell you how things are around here. Don't get any ideas about 'escaping' or 'disobeying'. I know things. Peter over there can show you where the bathrooms are, he's done this before."

"_Cody_?" I scoffed once more, narrowing my eyes. "Who do you think you are? It's _Cole_."

When he turned to leave, instead of glaring at me, he caught sight of Ari again, who was gawking. "Amy, was it? Don't give me that look." With that, he walked away to lead the others to this 'campfire'.

The campfire we weren't invited to. Oh, well, I thought, trying to convince myself. I didn't need to sit around a flame, singing gibberish. My stomach grumbled. And I _most certainly _wasn't starving.


	5. Ari Loses Her Pool Noodle

**5/30/11- Major edit to the chapter; conversations modified, more elaboration. Enjoy!**

* * *

Not even fifteen minutes in, Percy emerged. Ironically, I turned around just in time to see him walking out the door. Apparently, so did Annabeth.

"Percy, where do you think you're going?" she prompted, dropping the paper towels to cross her arms with a parental scowl.

Stopping in the doorway for a moment, he uttered simply, "To get some food." It wasn't until then that I realized the hunger clawing mercilessly at my stomach. As if on cue, my stomach growled in protest.

"I'm in!" I chimed, tossing my sponge in the nearest sink. The last thing my tummy had seen was a bag a Skittles at a rest stop nearly three hours ago. I was all for stealing some dinner.

Annabeth's voice raised an octave. She shot me a warning glance, but thankfully kept her focus trained on Percy. "No, no, no. You're just as responsible for this as we are! You're going to help us finish these bathrooms." My heart sank.

Percy shrugged. "I was just gonna get some s'mores..." I cringed. Suddenly I was on Annabeth's team. I despised s'mores. Well, actually, it was just the chocolate. The crackers and marshmallows were alright. The only thing I hated more than chocolate was my dyslexia. And Ari.

"_Percy Jackson_, you know we're not allowed at that campfire."

"Aw, c'mon, Annabeth! If I use Blackjack to-"

At that, Annabeth's scorn evaporated into a smile. "I'm so coming," she said. She turned to me, her face instantly lighting up like someone had plugged in some Christmas lights. I don't know what in the world she found appealing about playing card games. With a strangely creepy lovey-dovey glance at Percy, she added, "You guys stay here. We'll be back in a flash!"

They were holding hands as they had gone around the corner. I winced. Suddenly I wasn't feeling hungry anymore. Once I was sure the two of them were out of earshot, I found Jacey, who had resumed her place scrubbing the filthy tiles.

"What was that about?" I asked slowly, cringing at the mental image of Percy and Annabeth.

Jacey's circular motions stopped long enough for her to look up at me with a cheery grin. "Ever since a couple years ago when Annabeth and Percy saved the world together, they've sorta been a thing."

"Saved the world? _Yuck_," I retorted, voice heavy with sarcasm and disgust. "Are they headed to a casino or something?"  
"Casino?"

"Percy mentioned blackjack."

Jacey chuckled, "No, Blackjack's the name of his horse."

"Two freaks saving the world on their trusty steed Blackjack. I'm sure if someone made that a book, it'd sell a lot of copies."

"Um…" Jacey bit her lips like there was something she wanted to say, but didn't. Whatever it was, I didn't want to hear it.

Lucky for me, Ari interrupted from a nearby bathroom stall: "What's the matter, hotshot? You think you're too cool for love?" She spoke the word 'love' like a line in a song- all mushy and singsong-y.

I slammed my fist on the nearest sink. "_No!_" I yelled. Then I realized that had kind of hurt, and grabbed my reddened hand.

"Oh, you probably wouldn't be able to score a girlfriend, anyway. What girl in their right mind would date a motormouth dyslexic kid?"

That was it. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest at a million miles a minute. She had no business pulling the dyslexic card. "Back off!" How had she known about my dyslexia, anyway? I tried to breath, returning to one of the sinks.

"You know, soap usually helps, but…" Ari added. I whipped around furiously to see that, as opposed to working away at a toilet, she was now watching me work.

"I think I can handle it _myself_, thank you very much!" I spat the words. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take; if I hadn't been so stupid as to let a couple girls drag me up to this so-called "camp", I would've been home with my mom. I'd probably be playing video games and watching TV and swimming at the pool like any other summer. But, no, I wasn't even sure when I'd see my mom again. I was stuck with a bunch of brainiac girls. And Percy.

Satisfied, Ari found her way back to a stall. "_Sure_ you can," she muttered, probably kneeling down next to the toilet, "Jeez, how often do these get cleaned?" I could hear her loud mouth from across the bathroom. I stood and moved to stand in the doorway of one of the stalls.

"_Jeez_, how often do you shut your big mouth?" I mimicked her high-pitched voice, looking down on a hardworking Ari.

Without turning around, Ari muttered, "My voice doesn't sound like Elmo's you know." She continued to scrub.

"You know those buzzer things in your house that go off if you have a fire? When they turn on, they won't turn off 'til you whack 'em with something?" I was obviously fuming by then, because that had probably been the worst analogy ever. I mean, it shouldn't have been a big surprise since I always say stupid stuff when I'm mad; but this one took the cake. No comparison involving a household object was credible. However, at that very moment, I wasn't contemplating the level of idiocy I had conveyed in my comment- rather, I was focused on the fact that Ari had insulted me.

"You mean _smoke alarms_, Smart Alec?"

I could feel my fingers clench around the side of the stall, forming a tight fist. "Whatever. That's what your voice sounds like!" I was seconds away from tackling this girl to the floor; and it wasn't going to be pretty. I had given this one guy at school a black eye and a broken nose. I could do it again, even if it was a girl this time.

Then something completely weird- yet, entertaining- happened: the toilet suddenly ripped off of its hinges and there was a sharp whizzing sound. Almost a delayed response, a growing puddle emerged from the toilet's base, expanding until it had soaked my shoes and disappeared under the stalls on either side of us. The best part? It sprayed Ari right in the face, drenching her hair and soaking through all her clothes. Her smirk melted into a scorn. She stood up slowly, the water dripping down to the floor and making ripples in the huge puddle. Spitting out a mouthful of nasty stuff, she said: "_What…the…heck?_" Her words were slow and detached, making me crack up.

"Being a little aggressive with that sponge, Sparky?" I smiled. Sparky. That was a good one. Not long after, the air around Ari was filled with an odd form of electricity; definitely not normal. For whatever reason, though, the crackling bolts didn't really bother me at all. Maybe because it reminded me of a storm. I snuck another peek at the busted toilet, and the water spraying from its pipes, then looked back at Ari. Man, was she wet. She looked like she'd bathed in the thing. I smiled wider. "Whoa, did the toilet just explode?" I added. For the first time, I realized that the toilet had burst…out of nowhere!

Ari shook the water from her eyes and hair. Her frown tightened, the glare at me becoming suddenly menacing. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be scared or weirded out- the look didn't exactly work for her. It was like a tiger cub trying to be full-grown tiger. "No," she said sarcastically, "I just decided to splash around in it for a while."

"Might want a pool noodle next time, it looks like you almost drowned," I choked out between bursts of laughter. This had to be one of the most hilarious things I had ever seen in my life. I simply couldn't help it. Now, I was enjoying this so-called 'disagreement.' But, really, how had this toilet just randomly exploded?

I caught Ari's expression again. The weirdo faux-glare now looked labored and a lot wider. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. How does that taste, now, Sparky? Oh, yeah, that's what you get! "You need to shut up now before you find your face a bit flatter than it was before," she said. Her eyes opened again.

"You really think I'd fight a girl?" I laughed, even though I honestly didn't mind fighting girls. I paused for a moment, my smile dimming. She was beginning to look just the slightest bit…abnormal. "A really creepy girl. Look, I don't want you to smash my face in, and I doubt you could, so why don't you go swimming again, and I'll catch you later." I had to grip the doorframe to keep myself from falling backwards into the puddle. The water had spread surprisingly fast, and, like the oil spill off the coast of the US, it was still spewing from toilet pipes.

"You don't think I could?" Strangely, she smiled. It made me want to punch her in the mouth.

"Punch my face in? Actually, I know you couldn't," I said quickly and matter-of-factly. "What can a big ball of electricity do besides fry an omelet?" I couldn't help smirking at that one, as if inviting Ari to take me up on the offer. I could handle it; or at least, I thought I could. After all, I had taken on those guys at school several times…and only gotten a black eye once myself. That counted for something, right?

The sparks in Ari's hair flared up again, flying close to me. She looked about to burst. "Oh, yeah," she replied icily, "and blowing up toilets is definitely going to get you somewhere in life." If that freak could make electricity come out of her face, what else was she capable of?

"_Whoa_, so you're saying _I_ blew up that toilet? I can't even turn in my homework on time!" I countered, gesturing vaguely towards the mess of toilet and water. Now I was genuinely interested in the cause of the sudden disaster. If I hadn't busted the toilet, and Ari hadn't, then who had? I'd never heard of toilets exploding randomly like this. But then again, I'd never thought there was a special camp for weirdo kids, either.

"Hmm, Einstein, let's examine this further. You were the one closest to the toilet when it blew up, and you probably would've gotten wet standing there in the doorway. Who do you think did this? I'm gonna give your slow brain a couple brains to process this," she said, shoving past me to exit the stall for a mop.

What was this about getting wet? I cautiously let my gaze fall upon and examine my clothes. I gasped, suddenly feeling as though all of the air had been knocked out of me. The fabric of my forest-green t-shirt and jeans were both completely dry, I had noticed for the first time. Contradictory was the water at my feet and on the sides of the bathroom stall. "_What?_" I scrambled to touch my shirt again. Everything around me was soaked, but I had remained untouched. _Why?_ And _how?_ This wasn't beginning to make any sense.

Ari returned with the mop, taking her former position and beginning to go at the ginormous lake of a puddle. "And fifteen minutes later, he gets it. Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying!"

"You're crazy! There is no way in a million years I did that! If I blew something up, don't you think I would know?" I said. I didn't know what to believe anymore.

"That's not really my problem now, is it?"

Then, to make everything worse, I heard Annabeth's annoying voice- it was almost as annoying as Ari's. She and Percy had returned with the food! But, at this point, no one was interested in the food anymore; it was the Amazing Drowning Toilet that had taken center stage. Drowns an entire bathroom within a matter of minutes, yours free with the purchase of…

"What's going on in here?" I heard Percy now, who sounded like he was about to have a heart attack. "I swear it wasn't me this time." I spun to see Jacey and Percy both running down the aisle towards Ari and my stall, frantically sprinting like their lives depended on it. The funny part was that they were each coming from different directions. And, ironically, once they'd reached our stall, collided in midair and slipped backwards. They were totally soaking now, too. You'd think that, the way everything was happening in that bathroom, it was an episode of the Five Stooges.

Percy rubbed his head. "Oww," he uttered. Momentarily forgetting my confrontation with Ari, I laughed.

"Watch where you're going, Seaweed Brain," Jacey replied simply, subtly rubbing her own head. What was that even supposed to mean?

"_Seaweed Brain_?" Percy reiterated. He was obviously as confused as I was.

"I pick up a thing or two from Annabeth," Jacey said with a smirk, pushing to her feet. I still didn't get it. My amusement was short-lived.

The next thing I knew, there was a startling prick in my hand. It didn't feel like much, but it was enough to knock me backwards into a puddle of toilet water. Wincing in both pain and utter disgust, I felt the nasty wetness seep through my clothes and to my skin. Why hadn't I gotten wet the first time, but gotten drenched this time? More importantly, where had the shock come from?

Shock._ Electric_ shock. Sparks. Sparky.

Ari.

Never, in my wildest dreams, had I imagined being hit by a lightning bolt. Or, in this case, a girl who shoots lightning bolts out of her head. Perfectly normal. My body ached. I felt like an overdone pancake.

"Ow! What'd you do that for? Tryin' to kill me?" I yelled, saying the words through another wince as I sat up. I tried forming a scowl in Ari's direction, but it faltered after a few seconds.

She smirked, seeming a bit surprised by my reaction to her touch. "I think you seriously need to get a reality check. You're at a camp for kids with superhuman parents. Hasn't it occurred to you that those kids get powers, too?" She paused, as if thinking something over. "You deserve it, you know."

"I _deserve it_?" I quipped. Haphazardly, I pushed to my feet. I turned to stare Ari down, but instead of scowling like I'd expected, she was smiling. Then, she turned sideways, did a flip. She did another flip, faster this time. Then, another. She was spinning now._ Stop!_ I wanted to yell at her. It was making my head ache. As if to taunt me, the rest of the bathroom followed suit. What was going on? How could everything be spinning, all at once? No, that was impossible. I was the one spinning. Just in time, I reached out to grab the side of the stall before keeling over again. That was odd. Was I dizzy after getting electrocuted? Then again, I'd never been electrocuted before to know what it felt like.

That was where I saw Percy. Frankly, I wasn't sure if he'd been standing there already, or if he had just walked in. Either way, it had taken him a while to get up off that floor and intervene. All he said was, "Ari, did you just-?" and stopped, pointing at me, dumbfounded.

I turned to see Ari's crude response, but she didn't make any faces or even yell. She was staring at me. "You okay?" she murmured.

"None 'o your business, is it?" I said sharply, rubbing my aching forehead as I watched Ari. Though things were still spinning a little, I could see her face through the blur; her expression seemed to soften. Now she was being sympathetic? Is this what she always does to her victims? _Come 'ere, let me give you a big knuckle sandwich_, and afterward, _Oh, you poor thing, here's a cookie._ For most, it just didn't work out that way.

Jacey came to join the party next. "What went on in here?"

Percy's response was sarcastic. "A toilet exploded, Ari fried a kid. Now that we're all caught up, let's go break open that bag of marshmallows." Just as she had earlier, Annabeth moved to corner him.

"For the _last time_, I didn't blow up th- _See_, Sparky over there thinks I blew up a toilet," I burst, the words running together in ferocity. "I _didn'tblowupthattoilet_! I'm a regular, normal twelve-year-old. Did I mention_ normal_?" I was losing it. Why wouldn't she drop the subject already? I stumbled for a second time, through managed to keep my footing. The headache was beginning to subside.

"Did you catch any of that?" Ari asked, turning to Jacey.

"Something about how he thinks he's normal," Jacey murmured back. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been this mad; I couldn't bear to look at Ari's amused face for any amount of time. More than anything, I wanted to punch her in the face. Not Jacey, but Ari.

That was when I took notice to the strange movement of water on the floor. The surface that was wet with toilet water was beginning to take on a shape. It was an indefinite shape at first, but gradually built up, taller and taller, like waves created in a small pool. It's strange, really, watching something like that unfold before your eyes, and not know where it came from. In a mess, the water rushed to Ari's feet, slowly building up until it was probably five feet tall. I grinned. However this was happening, I loved it. I stepped back to give the water wave more room to grow.  
I took a moment to realize that Ari and I had moved backwards and into the aisle of stalls during the course of our argument. So, when the wave of gross water decided to take a detour and miss Ari altogether, I got even angrier.

But, as the mini tidal wave disappeared, so did our conflict. Now, Ari was just standing there, staring at me. Her eyes were wide in awe.  
"What?" I asked. Wordlessly, she turned around to point at a man in the doorway. He was drenched from head to toe like the rest of us. Creepy Camp Dude was back. Now, everyone besides Annabeth smelled like a sewer.

I gaped, moving towards him. My anger vanished. "Whoa, did a toilet explode on you? Somebody needs to fix these things," I said a bit flippantly. I turned my hand to point at the back stall that was spewing water. The tidal wave had missed Ari, but at least it had hit someone. I didn't like the creep anyways, so it was a little added bonus.

"Oh," Jacey murmured through a mouthful of marshmallow.

"Peter Johnson." For whatever reason, Creepo's gaze settled uneasily on Percy. Apparently, Percy was the ideal suspect.

"_What? Me?_ You think _I_ did that? No, I wouldn't-" Percy nearly stammered, at a loss for words.

"It wasn't Percy," Annabeth spoke up suddenly. She was just on time, probably trying to save Percy's butt. How adorable.

Mr. D raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't Peter? Annabel, then, who do you suppose it was? No one else here is capable of something this destructive...and _water-related_." Mr. D said icily. This time, his eyes took time to focus on each of us in turn. I found myself holding my breath when his gaze met mine.

"Mr. D, I swear on the River Styx it wasn't me!" Percy persisted, shoving a s'more in his mouth between words. "Do you really think I'd create a tidal wave thingy like that and randomly decide to have it collide with you?" Why in the world was he swearing on sticks and rivers?

Annabeth turned randomly to stare at me. I had a bad feeling about that look. "That's the thing, Sir. We think that Cole might be a son of Poseidon. A few minutes ago, he made a toilet explode- or, so we think. It only makes sense." Pausing, she quickly added, "I'm pretty sure he was aiming for Ari and just missed." For once she had gotten something glared at me and I just smirked. She pushed me into the wall.

"That boy over there?" Big Nose asked, dumbfounded, pointing a cautious finger at me. Meanwhile, he decided to take Annabeth's idea and revolve to lock eyes with me. His eyes, dark with hatred, were enough to make me ready to punch his teeth out."You expect me to believe that brat, that _sorry_ excuse for a half-blood, is a son of the Big Three? That's absurd!" He scowled. When he wasn't looking, I stuck my tongue out defiantly. Whatever he had just said about blood and three, I had a feeling it had been an insult. Creepy Dude let his icy stare land on Percy.

"I swore!" Percy exclaimed. I watched as he raised his arms above his head, like one of those fugitives on TV who had just gotten caught by the police. "You can punish me all you want, Mr. D, and I _still_ wouldn't admit to that- because I didn't do it!" I laughed. _Busted!_

Then, as if on cue, all eyes were suddenly on me. What had I done now? Jacey, who had opened her mouth to say something, stopped, her jaw gaping; I watched a dumbfounded, red-faced Percy return to his normal tan color as he stared in awe; Creepo rubbed his eyes like he was dreaming; Annabeth looked about to faint; and Ari's eyes narrowed, like she wanted to punch me out all over again.

"What?" I demanded. Was my hair sticking up from being fried alive? There was a long silence where no one said a word, not even me. Out of fear and curiosity, I kept surprisingly silent as I shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

Finally, Jacey spoke, her voice unsteady and thin. She was still starstruck, eyes bulging out of her head. "Cole, you're a son of Poseidon."


	6. Halloween Comes Early

"Well, I guess that's settled," Ari's loud voice broke the seemingly-endless silence, "Cole's a son of Poseidon."

Annabeth, heart still set on being all creepily romantic, stepped forward. Slack-jawed expression fading into a sly smile, she said, "I guess this proves that Percy is innocent wouldn't you say, Sir?" I had no idea what she was even talking about.

The Mr. D dude cleared his throat, something that people usually do in an awkward situation. This was definitely awkward. "I suppose you are correct, Annabel. Cody is very lucky I am not punishing him this time, but when something like this happens again, you'll wish you'd never been _born_. Oh, and about the s'mores-" he added, eyeing the sugary treat Percy was hurrying to stuff in his mouth. Apparently, he had caught Percy stealing them. "I _clearly_ stated that you were not allowed at the campfire, and still, you managed to undergo a secret operation and steal some. You can all make your way to the pegasus stables tonight, and you also have the _privilege _of breakfast dishes tomorrow." He turned around and was gone.

"_What?_" Percy exclaimed. He was the first one to speak, probably flabbergasted by our new punishment.

_Pegasus? Cody? _Struggling to process even Ari's words, I asked tentatively, "What about me being a kind of poison? Isn't that what she'd said, that I was a kind of poison and that it was settled? I figured I had a better shot at making sense of Ari's words than Mr. D's.

"_Poseidon_, not _poison_, Einstein! My gosh!" Ari interjected. "It's settled that you're a son of _Poseidon!"_

"Like that makes a difference," I replied simply, rolling my eyes dramatically. Sure, like everybody knew what that was. However, I couldn't help but be curious now. "What's a Poseidon, anyway? And how am I a son of it?"

"Cole, that makes _all_ the difference!" Ari said. I could tell by the way she threw up her arms that her patience was wearing thin…again. Nonetheless, she pressed to keep her voice calm. "Poseidon is the god of the sea. And, from the looks of things, your dad."

The breath catching in my throat, I paused. Now I understood. Sea. Water. _Toilet_ water. They thought this guy was my dad after the bathroom incident. _That's_ why they blamed the toilet explosion on me. I had to set the record straight. "I'll tell you something," I spoke slowly, voice dropping to a murmur, but never losing intensity. "My…dad. He's _dead, _okay? There is no _way_, not in the whole wide world, that this random whatchamacallit _King of Water_ is him. No _way._" It felt wrong, just saying the word 'dad'. It had been an eternity since that word had left my mouth. It tasted foreign, like it didn't belong on my lips. Like I was forbidden to say it. My dad had died in a car crash, my mom had said. If he was dead, there wasn't even the _possibility_ that this man was my father. And, there wasn't even the possibility that this bossy, know-it-all girl was right. My mom was the only one who knew anything about him, and she had said he'd died in a car crash. So, that meant that he'd died in a car crash. I believed her, and wasn't going to listen to anyone else try to make up a story that contradicted hers.

Across the room, Percy fingered his temples irritably. "Cole," he sighed, "I wouldn't talk like that if I were you."

"Unless you want bad things to happen," Ari added.

"Bad things?" I replied sharply. I bit my lip. "You think I haven't had enough _bad things_ happen to me already? I think I can handle one more." What was the big deal? Being here was torture enough.

Breaking the flow of Ari and my argument, Annabeth decided to do what she did best: interrupt. "Hey, guys, let's head towards the stables. We better go before lights out."

Almost robotically, we turned to follow Annabeth. It wasn't like I had any other choice. I dragged my feet through gross toilet water until we got outside, where all the grass within a three-foot radius of the bathroom was also sopping. It wasn't like it mattered if my tennis shoes got soaked. The rest of my clothes already were.

The five of us walked out into the night air, all the while, continuing our unfriendly dialogue. This time, Jacey butted in, talking to Ari in what she thought was a whisper: "He's so arrogant, saying whatever he wants," she said. " If he had the slightest bit of sanity, he'd actually believe the things we're telling him." Ari laughed.

"Hey, I heard you!"

Jacey shrugged. "I know."

It was only a matter of minutes before we reached the stables. Even in the light of the rising moon, I could pick out the dark, vague shape of a barn. It looked like the type of thing farmers had to hold their sheep and stuff. I bet it smelled like skunk. Smelling of toilet water, the five of us would fit right in.

Annabeth stopped a few yards from it, and so did we. She seemed suddenly conflicted.

Curiously, I followed her gaze. She was staring at the dark shape of a man or woman in the distance- I secretly hoped it was a man or woman and _not_ a creature waiting to eat my face. He was tall, somewhat skinny, and dressed in an odd form of clothing. Besides that, I couldn't make out any identifiable features. Whoever it was, he was probably here to 'come down on us' like What's-His-Face Camp Guy. Just great.

"Aw, what does _that_ guy want?" I whined.

Up ahead, Jacey leaned in to talk to Percy. "Can he shut up for more than five seconds? Seriously, he kind of reminds me of you."

"Hey, what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Percy countered.

I scowled. "Hey, I can hear y-"

Jacey smirked. "I know."

"Guys, not the time," Annabeth muttered. She had taken several steps forward and her eyes were locked uneasily to the figure. "That's the Oracle."

"Oh, ora-whatchamacallit, yeah, that really clears things up," I said sarcastically. Now, I could definitely label _It_ as a woman. But, as far as I could tell, _It_ was just a weirdo lady. Though, after taking a moment to study the others' body language, I decided that it must have some significance. A significance I wasn't familiar with. What, was it bad luck to see a random person standing outside a horse stable?

"So, I'm guessing this Oracle is pretty important?" Ari asked. I smiled at the fact that she was completely oblivious, too.

"_Yes_, the Oracle is important!" Annabeth spun to answer Ari and me.

Jacey gulped, her voice slightly uneasy. "Do you think…she's waiting for _us_?"

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Pretty sure. Unless someone else is planning to sleep with the pegasuses tonight." We were almost near the red barn doors now.

"_Whoa_!" I staggered, finding myself almost keeling over in surprise. It took me a second to catch my breath. What had looked like a lady before, now looked like a sort of…mummy. Wrapped in yellowing pieces of paper-thin pieces of fabric, it looked about to crumble into a million pieces. It was a little too creepy for my taste. And ugly. This was the oh-so-special Ora-Majig that everybody was talking about? "It's like one of those decorations you put up on Halloween! You could sure scare a lot of kids with that…" I noted tentatively. I studied the others again. None of them seemed to have flinched. "Is no one else seeing this thing?" I added. They all remained silent, and, for the first time, didn't shush me.

Jacey looked like she was going to choke. "Us? But, but, we're…_A quest_?"

What the mummy did next scared my even more than the dragon. It turned to face us robotically. A green mist seeping from its mouth and taking the form of despised Mr. D, it recited a poem:

_Five will go north to the land of cold_

_And face the one that acted so bold._

_You shall pick up one, yet return with five,_

_And in the end, only four will survive._

_You shall discover a key to unlock a friend,_

_And retrieve another whose life they lent._

And, then, like smoke from a teapot, the smoke returned to the mummy's mouth.

I staggered back again, eyes probably wide enough to swallow my whole face. I stopped breathing. "Whoa, whoa! Is it just me, or did that talking Halloween decoration just rhyme a bunch of pointless words? _Tell me_ somebody else saw that!" Talk about creepy. Until now, I had simply assumed that people were saying things, all of these things to mess with me. But, standing here in front of a mummy that had come alive like an episode of the Twilight Zone, I got the eerie feeling that all of this was real; that, no matter how much I wanted to deny it, I wouldn't wake up in bed from this far-fetched dream. I was stuck here, like it or not. Like Jacey had said, it would do me no good pretending to ignore that stuff about gods and goat people- it was all _real_. _My dad…_I gulped, stomach doing back flips_. Maybe he really was this Poseidon guy._ I wasn't sure about anything anymore. My life was being turned upside down, and I could either hold on tight or fall.

Annabeth looked over at Jacey. "I'm pretty sure that was for us."

I watched as Ari blinked hard, eyes shifting uneasily towards Jacey and Annabeth. "Okay, what was _that?_" She asked. I let out the long breath I had been holding in. I wasn't sure if I was relieved or horrified. She had seen it, too!

"Yeah, let's do it!" Percy said, throwing a fist in the air.

Jacey was already brainstorming. "'Land of cold'," she pondered to herself. "The North Pole? No, that would be too obvious…"

"Whoa, hold the train, guys," Annabeth raised her voice.

"What train?" I asked. Ari rolled her eyes.

Annabeth continued, "We don't know what we're looking for. Usually when a camper is assigned a quest, it is to save camp in some shape or form. As far as we know, the camp doesn't need saving."

"Your point?" Percy interjected.

"My _point_ is we need to speak with Mr. D. He might be able to tell us what the 'land of cold' is. He might be able to tell us _why_ the Oracle presented itself," Annabeth said.

"Greenland? Probably not…" Jacey murmured, tapping her lips.

"Hold on!" I burst in. "I haven't been here very long, but I've been here long enough to know that I _do not_ like that Mr. D guy. I wouldn't want to get on his nerves again."

"Cole actually has a point," Percy chimed in. "Mr. D's the one who got us into this in the first place: the bathrooms, the stables, the dishes. None of us are really on speaking terms with the guy."

"Not to mention he hates us," Ari added.

"And I hate him," I said.

"I know you four don't exactly want to chat with Mr. D, but it's the next logical step!" Annabeth argued. "How else are we going to make sense of the Oracle?"

"We don't. Let's just all go home and call it a day," I suggested with a shrug. _That_ seemed like the next logical step for me. "I could sure use some food. And a nap…"

"A nap? Cole, this is serious!" Ari thundered. "Do you even know what a quest _is?_"

"Nope, not a clue." And it was true. I still didn't see why we couldn't just go home.

"Why don't we just wing it?" Percy suggested.

"_Wing it?_" Annabeth looked surprisingly offended. "Percy, we don't even know where we're going!"

"I've got it! Iceland!" Jacey said suddenly. Then her triumphant smile faded, almost as quickly as it had appeared. "What was I thinking? Iceland's all grassy. There's no snow there, never mind."

"Yeah," Percy insisted, "it would be an adventure. Your mom, Ari's dad, and my dad would lead us in the right direction, right? We couldn't go wrong."

"Wait, you're taking chaperones? That's lame," I laughed.

Of course, Ari had to say something: "You dumb butt, our parents are _Greek Gods!_"

"Yeah, I guess. Athena _is _the goddess of intelligence and strategy…" Annabeth answered Percy. She was too focused on the matter at hand to acknowledge Ari and me.

"Think about it, Annabeth," continued Percy. "We could take a taxi to the airport and see if there are any planes headed for Antarctica, or something. Our parents wouldn't let us lose our way. Where's your sense of adventure? Defy logic, for once. Listen to your heart instead of your head."

Annabeth bit her lip, thinking it over. After a few seconds she finally said, "Okay."

"'Okay', as in, we're going?" Ari asked in a burst of euphoria.

"Now that _that's_ settled, I'll be seeing you," I announced in a small voice. Wherever the four of them were going, I wanted no part in it. Besides, this was probably the opportune moment to split and catch a taxi of my own.

As I was tiptoeing away, Jacey was the one to catch me by the collar of my wet shirt. "You're not going anywhere. We're all in this together. Hey, have you ever seen High School Musical?" She perked up and then, to my misfortune, started singing: "_We're all in this together! Once we know that we are, we're all stars, and we see that!" _

By the time the taxi pulled up, Jacey had sung a total of seven songs from High School Musical. One had been a horribly annoying duet about looking for things, and another was a slow song about having music inside of you. After that, I tuned out. They were all starting to sound the same.

When Jacey had fallen silent and I had had a moment to scrutinize the taxi, I said, "Hey, _you_ told me we were too far out in the woods for me to catch a taxi!"

Annabeth shrugged. "A normal taxi, yes. But this isn't just any 'ol taxi; it's a _magical _taxi."

"Magical?" Ari asked curiously.

"Magical," I muttered with sarcastic finality. Did she actually expect us to _believe _that?

"You'll see. It's pretty cool, actually," Percy assured us. "We'll be at the airport lickety-split. Jacey, you got the drachma?"

"Yup," Jacey piped up. She pulled a golden coin out of her pocket, a little bigger than a quarter. It was covered in strange, almost prehistoric characters, and reflected a blinding stream of sunlight. It was beautiful, the most beautiful thing I'd seen all day. That shows just how many hot girls I'd seen at camp.

"Is that _real gold_?" I reached out to snatch the coin out of her hand. What was Jacey doing with a solid gold coin? How had she gotten a hold of it? Had she stolen it?

Jacey pulled the coin from my reach and swiftly tucked it in her pocket. "Uh-huh. It's for the taxi."

"You're paying the _taxi driver_ with gold?" I questioned, thunderstruck. Man, what I would do for one of those! Now I'd seriously have to consider a career driving taxis. Actually, scratch that. I'd do _any_ job for gold like that.

"No. Well, yeah. It's called a drachma. Drachmas are the currency of the gods." Then, before I could argue, she was leaning through the passenger side window, handing my precious gold to the driver.

"Sure," I grumbled. I'd leave it at that. Everything led back to the Greek Gods in one way or another. I should've known.

Annabeth was the first one to climb in, followed closely behind by Percy. Jacey filed in third, and the next thing I knew, I was fighting Ari for the next seat.

"You go, I hate the middle," I said, thrusting her in.

"And you think I do?" Ari countered. "I don't think so." Before I could take stock, she was somewhere behind me, applying a surprising amount of force. I fell on my knees suddenly, throwing her off balance. I took advantage of her loss of footing and pushed my palms into her back.

"_Ha!_" I exclaimed triumphantly. "The end seat is mine!" I stood by the door, waiting for Ari to situate herself inside and accept defeat so I could slide in last. When I thought she was in, I went to sit, but was instead stuck hard in the upper arm by something outside. I found myself yelling a couple of words I probably shouldn't have.

"Think again," came Ari's evil voice. I looked up and she was holding the taxi door open with one hand while the other one rested on her hip. She was smirking. It had been _her_. Muttering a few more of those dirty words, I reluctantly slid into the taxi next to Jacey, holding my sore arm tight. When I removed my hand to survey the damage, Jacey, Percy, and Annabeth were laughing hysterically. Ari gracefully swept into the car, closing the door behind her. Jacey leaned over me to give Ari a high-five, who smiled wide.

"What's so funny?" I asked quietly, eyes narrowing.

Jacey laughed. "Did you use a baseball bat?"

"Nope," Ari asked matter-of-factly, flushing with pride, "just these." She held up her girly hands. _That was _it_. Whatever they were laughing at..._

Then, I saw it- a purple and blue bruise the size of a baseball just below my shoulder. Suddenly, I wanted some ice. And a baseball bat of my own to wack Ari in the head.


End file.
